I visited the White House this week as part of my NSF orientation. I was hoping the government affiliation would get me a special tour, but is was just the usual one. That said, the usual one is pretty interesting all by itself.

Security

The security was pretty amazing, as you might imagine. I had to go through three security checkpoints with armed secret service police at each one. NSF made a reservation in advance and I had to be on their lists, present a photo ID, and to through a couple of weapons screenings.

Inside

It is set up as an exhibit for tourists to walk through. This is the view looking from inside to the south lawn. There are getting ready for the Easter Egg hunt this weekend. It thought it was funny to see a soccer goal on the lawn.

Photos

They have a lot of pictures of current and past presidents on the walls.
This one was with presidential dogs. They were sure to have Pres. Trump in any of the collages which made sense.

Other Views

This is looking south through the windows towards the Washington Monument. The cherry blossoms were just starting to come out. They will be in full bloom in a week or so.
 
Here is a picture of me standing by a bust of Pres. Lincoln.

This is the red carpet the President uses to walk into Press Conferences.


This is the state dining room. There was a display of china from the different custom sets used for state dinners by Presidents going back at least as far as Lincoln.

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This is me after I exited the White House. It was kind of interesting that the road in front of the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue isn't paved. Because of security, you can only walk there, not drive.

Nearby Buildings

For some reason, it hadn't occurred to me how close other buildings would be to the White House. The Treasury Building is right across the street. (This made me think of my son, Bob.)

I also saw the headquarters of the American Bar Association, the Library of Congress, national monuments, and lots of lobbying organizations. People don't have to drive far (or at all) to get between these places.